A Birthday To Remember
by Hermione Blackwood
Summary: Kind-of OOC one-shot (takes place within my other story's universe, "A Different Ranma, A Different Life"). It's Ranma's 17th birthday and armed with this information, Nabiki's got the whole Nerima crew jumping over each other to wish him a good one. Ranma tries to run, but he just can't get away. Nice little fluffy bit at the end for all your shoujo needs.


This silly little story is a sort of one-shot taking place within the version of the Ranmaverse that I set up in "A Different Ranma, A Different Life". However, it's not canon to that story yet. It might get folded into it at a later date, but it's so far off in the timeline that I can only say it's a side-story or a gaiden or something until then. Things can change by the time I get here. This takes place soon after Ukyo's introduction, but not quite as far as Nodoka's.

The only things from the retelling story that factor into this one-shot are that Ranma's a bit nicer and more in tune with femininity, and Ranma and Akane are more friends than love interests, so there's no ego facade around her. His personality is less brash in general. Not a far leap of logic, but enough to make this different. Trying to keep some of the shoujo elements that were abandoned by Rumiko a few volumes into the story.

So, let's get started!

Another morning in Nerima, another day, just like any other. The birds were chirping in the early misty dawn and the neighborhood around the Tendo dojo was fast asleep, including a certain young prodigy of a martial artist. Well, that is, until he was awoken by the blare of an air horn two inches from his face.

"Get up, Ranma! How can you call yourself a martial artist if you don't wake up at the crack of dawn to train?!" Ranma's father bellowed as the poor kid tried to regain his hearing. He didn't quite make out what he said, aside from something about sleeping in past five o'clock.

"You're one to talk, _you_ usually sleep until breakfast!" Ranma shot back, taking a defensive stance in expectation of a fight.

"That's because I'm a martial arts master! I've _earned_ my right to sleep in!"

And the fight was on. A fist here, a knee there, and soon the whole residence (and half the neigborhood) had been woken up. It was so commonplace now to be woken up by yells and smashing that most of the neighbors didn't even bother setting morning alarms.

The Tendo family had all gathered downstairs at the table while Kasumi and Akane began setting the table. Soun and Nabiki kept a disinterested watch on their morning entertainment in the yard, until it was finally over in the usual way: with a splash in the koi pond and a call from Kasumi telling the two that breakfast was ready.

This time it happened to be Ranma climbing out of the koi pond, soaking wet and wearing nothing but the light blue pajamas she insisted on buying a while back. Genma's loud guffaw at his triumph was met swiftly by a hard punch to the gut. "Shouldn't leave yourself open just because you think you've won, pops." Ranma didn't even look back to see Genma curled up in a ball on the ground, clenching his stomach. Instead, she made her way towards her seat at the table.

Just another average morning at the Tendo residence.

Several minutes into the meal, Genma finally returned to the table to take his own place and, quickly snatching an item off Ranma's plate in petty revenge, said, "It shames me to see that even after seventeen years, you still can't best me in a serious spar, boy."

"Did you forget who took a dunk in the pond yesterday?," she snapped back with a glare before the other part of his sentence registered in her mind. "Wait, seventeen? What do you mean seventeen?"

"Well Ranma, today's spar was a test to see how far you've come in your seventeen years on this Earth and I'm sad to say that you still have much to learn. I've failed as a parent as as a sensei!" he yelled dramatically with forced tears streaming down his face.

' _Seventeen years? Seventeen years on this Earth..._ ' she pondered before finally blurting aloud, "Is today my birthday?"

The table froze at Ranma's odd question, but Nabiki broke the ice with a flustered, "You don't even know your own birthday?!"

"Well it's not like I had a calendar in China! I've been on a training trip for ten years!" Ranma retorted, crossing her arms defiantly and trying to shake the tinge of red embarrassment from her cheeks.

"You should still know, Ranma. Surely you've celebrated over the years, haven't you?" Kasumi chimed in, scooping a bit of rice onto her plate.

Ranma had to think hard about this one for a moment. Sure, her dad had mentioned it in passing while they were on their journey, but they never did anything special about it. One time they stopped at a nice restaurant, but her dad tried to dine and ditch, leaving Ranma to fend for herself. Besides that, with the constant training, there wasn't really a time she _could_ have known what day of the year it happened to be, except...

"...I guess junior high was the last time I had a party or anything. I know that was only a few years ago, but with how chaotic my day to day life has been since, it's hard to remember specific dates for things. Especially when we were in China."

"Shame on you, Mister Saotome! How can a parent let their child go without knowing their own birthday?!" Nabiki scolded but in Genma's place sat a panda holding a sign saying 'me no speaky Japanesey' in scribbled Roman characters. Nabiki glared at his lame attempt to hide, but thankfully for him, Kasumi decided to change the direction of the conversation.

"I know, I'll bake a cake for you today! I want you to feel special on your birthday, Ranma. Everyone should have a good birthday to remember!" she said cheerily, excited at the prospect of making a nice birthday cake from scratch.

"Please Kasumi, let me help! It'll be my gift to you, ok?" Akane chimed in, eager to do something nice as well, and what would be nicer than a cake baked from scratch? It's the most personal gift she could think of, and one she could really pour her heart into.

"Then I'll handle the dinner and leave the cake to you, Akane." Kasumi's cheery smile showed just how oblivious she was to the looks of pure dread coming from Ranma, Nabiki, and their fathers.

Nabiki, however, had already started to form a plan. If Ranma didn't even know her own birthday, then that must mean the other fiancees didn't know either, and that meant she had some premium information to sell.

First up was Shampoo at the Neko Han-Ten.

"What sly girl want for information?" she asked, cautiously eyeing Nabiki. Even Shampoo knew that there was always a catch when it came to Nabiki Tendo.

It was near lunch time now and Nabiki was feeling generous, so she offered the bargain, "How about you give me my lunch on the house? Trust me, with this information, you could make your 'airen' yours for good. It all depends on how you use it."

Shampoo thought hard about it for a moment, knowing full well that the cost of the meal would come from her own pocket, but she ultimately caved. "Bowl of ramen, best Shampoo can do."

"Throw in a small side of orange chicken and you have a deal." Nabiki saw the sour look the added order put on Shampoo's face, so she continued, "You might not get a chance to act on this again. It's a limited-time offer, today only."

Shampoo sighed. "Fine, is deal. Now what so special about airen?"

"Today is your airen's seventeenth birthday."

Shampoo dropped her empty serving tray in surprise with an 'ay, ya!' and took off upstairs. "Must make special present!" she muttered over and over again as Nabiki grinned and took her seat.

Shampoo tore through her closet, digging through box after box until she found what she'd been looking for: a special love potion she brought from home, and one of the finest! "All Shampoo have to do is make airen a special bowl of ramen, with special ingredient! Then he will see Shampoo is best girl for him!"

A few hours and many stops later, Nabiki found herself quite full and counting a fairly large wad of cash. "Free food from both fiancees and a fat stack of cash from the rest! Not a bad haul for such trivial information, if I do say so myself. Happy birthday, Ranma~! I don't think you'll forget it eeeever again," she laughed as she mused to herself.

Within the kitchen of the Tendo home, Akane stood triumphantly over a pan she'd just pulled from the oven. "I did it! I finally did it!" she chanted gleefully. "I made cupcakes! Now, where's the frosting... hmm, this is awfully pink, maybe if I added just a dash of balsamic vinaigrette to darken it up a little..."

For his part, Ranma had spent most of the day to himself. After breakfast, he did a few of his usual katas and taken a bath, and soon lunch had passed as well. He now found himself on the roof of the Tendo home, lost in thought has he stared at the random clouds passing by overhead.

He was seventeen now. It didn't feel any different, though. His birthdays had never meant much before but now that he was in one place, and even established for all intents and purposes, it might actually have some importance to it. The way Nabiki was quick to snap at his dad for letting him forget said it all. Now he was an adult, by some definitions. He could even get married all on his own if he wanted to. ' _But I don't want to marry anyone_!' he responded to himself in his mind. ' _But I could if I wanted to..._ '

Would it be ok to marry anyone while still half girl, though? Wouldn't it be best to find a cure first, so that whoever he married would never have to worry? That'd only be fair to them, but would it be fair to Ranma? He didn't mind his 'curse' so much. In fact, he felt rather comfortable in his female form. Much moreso than he'd ever admit to, at least to his father. There was something just so naturally comforting about having a smaller form factor, being lighter, and quicker, and... he didn't really want to admit this, even to himself, but the truth was his heart felt better as a girl, too.

The constant anxiety and egotistical facade of his male form disappeared with a splash of cold water and then he'd-, no, she'd feel comfortable. There was a sense of calm that always washed over him in female form that he chalked up to the estrogen. It took the edge off, in a way.

As a seventeen year old man who was also a seventeen year old woman, he wondered what that could mean for his future. He'd come a long way to accepting and even liking his female form and it felt so nice to be able to always go back to it that he seriously wondered if finding a cure was the right course of action. It'd be like losing a part of who he was, wouldn't it? But as he decided before, it'd be unfair to ask that of his future wife.

' _Heh, 'wife'. I've almost been one a few times_ ,' he laughed to himself. He couldn't really see himself being someone's wife, or having... marital relations... with a guy, but would it be any worse or different than being a guy married to a girl? Either way, he was both, and whoever he married would have to deal with that. ' _Akane wouldn't take too kindly to it... she and her dad would demand I find a cure first, for sure_.'

What Ranma really needed, he decided, was a fiancee that would be ok with both forms. That is, if he ever decided to get married in the first place. As much of a guilty pleasure as it is, he wouldn't actually want to find a 'cure' if it could be avoided. He just felt like he didn't have a choice.

Before he could come to any further conclusions, he was ripped from his thoughts by an absolutely giddy sixteen year old girl.

"Ranma, Ranma! I'm done!" Akane shouted.

Ranma shook the thoughts from his mind and hopped off the roof, turning to find Akane holding a cupcake with a disgustingly blackish green goop atop that must have been the frosting.

"Well? Won't you try one? I know it's not dinner time yet but you've got to tell me how they turned out! I made sure to scoop out all the eggshells this time and only used half a tablespoon of salt, just like the instructions said!" Akane was practically bouncing on her heels, she was so happy with her supposed culinary victory.

"Uh.. y'sure that wasn't supposed to be half a tablespoon of sugar?" Ranma asked carefully, never taking his eyes off the monstrocity. He could have sworn he saw it move on its own.

"Sugar, salt, what's the difference? They're both white, so it's al-right! That's how the old baking motto goes, right? C'mon, just try it! Please?" she begged, holding it out in front of Ranma's very unwilling face.

He stuttered and backed up cautiously, trying to think of some way of getting out of the situation alive, and luckily his savior came in the form of a lavender-haired Chinese girl smashing through the cement wall of the Tendo yard with her bicycle, completely unphased.

"Ni-hao, airen! Shampoo have very special ramen for very special birthday! You eat, yes?" In a split second, she was standing next to Akane in the same exact pose, holding her food out in front of Ranma's face, just waiting for him to take the plunge.

"Sh-Shampoo! I, uh, I actually have to run. Y'see, I was supposed to go, uh, meet Ucchan so we could, um, compare... spatula notes?" Even Ranma didn't buy his own flimsy excuse.

"You rang, sug'?"

Right on cue, a thin okonomiyaki went spinning through the air towards Ranma, but it was intercepted by a fat gluttonous panda who caught it with his mouth. He flopped down on the ground in front of the kids, pulled a toothpick seemingly out of nowhere, and began satisfyingly picking through his teeth.

"Uggh, damn you Genma Saotome! First you ruin my life and now you ruin my birthday love for Ranma?! No matter, I'll just make another! This one's for you, Ran-chan!" Ukyo yelled, whipping out her tools and a griddle (also seemingly out of nowhere) and going to town on a fresh pancake, being sure to add hearts and 'happy birthday Ranma' written in sauce.

Just as quick as Shampoo, she ran up to Ranma holding the fresh okonomiyaki on a plate in front of his face, being sure to stomp on Genma's head pretty hard on her way over. Ranma stared into her expectant eyes, then the Shampoo, and Akane, and back to Ukyo still standing on Genma's head, and the guilt became too much to bear.

He'd hurt Akane's feelings if he chose Ukyo's edible food over hers, and Shampoo's probably poisoned her own food (he'd learned not to trust surprise meals from her a long while ago), but he didn't have the heart to upset them all. He had to think of a way out, and fast.

"I, uh, promised to go meet some friends somewhere. Gotta go, bye!" he turned to run, but before he could, Akane had grabbed him by the collar, holding him back.

"You don't HAVE any friends besides us, Ranma!"

"Th-That's not true, I have lots of friends!" he panicked. This was it, Ranma had no choice. He didn't want to resort to this. The only way he could see to get out of this situation was to use the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts Ultimate Secret Technique, a dreaded and cursed attack that Genma had taught him to use in only the most dire and desparate of situations.

"LOOK, A THOUSAND YEN JUST LYING ON THE GROUND!" he yelled, pointing at a spot behind the girls. The just glared incredulously with disbelief and half-lidded eyes, none of them believing that Ranma thought that'd actually work, but they were wrong. In a flash, Genma snapped up to look for the money, toppling Ukyo off balance and into Shampoo and Akane, giving Ranma his chance to escape. ' _Hook, line, and sinker, just as planned! At least you're reliable for something pops_!' he grinned as he bolted to the nearest rooftop and started hopping away.

"Oooh, Ranma, _YOU GET BACK HERE!_ " Akane yelled from the bottom of the dogpile. She was covered in cold ramen and her cupcake found its way icing-down into the okonomiyaki swimming in what was left of the ramen bowl, but she had plenty more where that came from, as did the others. This wasn't over.

"I think that lost 'em for a while!" Ranma cheered to himself as he slowed his stride and hopped down to the street. The park was nearby and seemed just as good a place as any to lie low. Maybe on top of the playground equipment? No, too many little kids. Maybe a nice tree branch to take a nap on? Sure, but which- "wait, who's that?"

A small malnurished looking boy wearing the Furinkan High uniform and a ritualistic headband that held two lit candles was standing in front of the tree Ranma had decided upon. He wasn't too sure, but for a second he could have sworn that the flames of the candles were blue. Must just be a trick of the light, he decided.

"Saotome, your birthday is the perfect time to use the spirits to vanquish you! There is no other day in the year when your spirit is so aligned with theirs!" the boy muttered to himself, perhaps a little too loudly. He seemed to be preparing to nail a staw doll with a black pigtail to the tree when Ranma walked up behind him.

"Yo, Gosunkugi! Whatchya doin'?" he asked, already knowing the real answer but fully expecting a half-baked lie.

"S-Saotome!," he jumped. "I, uh, I heard from Nabiki Tendo that today was your birthday so I was going to, uh..." he stuttered, not quite sure what to say to get out of the situation. He was caught red-handed.

"Nabiki? That explains a few things. What were you gonna give me, a voodoo doll?" he said in a dull tone, crossing his arms.

"...Yeahhhh, something like that..." Hikaru Gosunkugi was always able to make a conversation awkward. He didn't know quite what to say next but luckily, he didn't have to. He could see a change of subject rapidly jumping towards them from behind Ranma, holding a bouquet of black roses in one hand and a spinning gymnastics ribbon in the other.

"OOOOH-HO-ho-ho-ho-ho~! Raaaanmaaa, daaaarling, I find you at last~!" the girl cooed with her shrill maniacal voice, making Ranma cringe before turning to face its owner.

"Oh no, not Kodachi too. Listen, whatever it is, I don't want it!" ' _Damn you, Nabiki_!', he thought as he ran away.

"Ranma dear, wait! I just wanted to give you..." Kodachi shouted in her sickeningly sweet tone, flicking her wrist and tying Ranma up in her ribbon before he could get away. "...your present! Please, my love, take them."

She held out the black rose bouquet for Ranma to take, but his arms were tied up at the moment. All he could do was try hopping away with little bunny hops. He didn't get very far before a slight tug at the ribbon caused him to trip and fall hard to the ground.

He cringed and rolled over to find Kodachi already on top of him, straddling him and bringing her face ever closer to his own. "Ranma, my love, allow me to give you the best birthday gift of all: a most passionate kiss from your darling lover~"

"Noooo no no nonono!" Ranma cried, struggling to avoid her nearing lips.

" _GET OFFA HIM, YOU HUSSY!_ "

"Hussy? Moi?!" Kodachi turned to see who dared to speak so ill of Kodachi Kuno but was met with a cupcake to the face. A cupcake so disgusting and putrid that just a taste of the frosting knocked her out cold.

"Bullseye!" Akane cheered. "So glad I made these instead of a whole cake! Must have hit her hard though to knock her out like that..." she mused, once again completely oblivious to her chemical weaponry.

"Thanks Akane, that was a close one!" Ranma said as she untied him. Neither spared so much as a second glance towards the crippled Kuno girl.

"Don't mention it. I got a head start over the others so before they can show up and ruin it, will you please try a cupcake? I put a lot of effort into making these just for you, Ranma."

Ranma gazed into her sincere and pleading face and was filled with that same guilt as before, but tenfold. Akane had been by his side from the start and had no malicious intent like the others. He knew she was just trying to do something nice for his birthday and that it wasn't really her fault she was such a terrible cook. Well, it _was_ , but just as much as Ryoga's directional sense could be helped.

Ranma tentatively took one of the few remaining cupcakes and eyed it suspiciously. The cake part seemed the right color, but that frosting was just... sickening, to say the least. He took a big gulp and looked towards Kodachi's twitching corpse with worry, and then back to Akane's pleading eyes, and he was defeated.

"Just one bite, ok?"

Akane nodded, and Ranma steeled his nerves. ' _Don't even chew, just swallow. It'll all be over in a second_.' And down the hatch it went.

He was frozen in place, expressionless and unmoving.

"R-Ranma...? How was it? Did I do ok this time?"

Slowly, Ranma's senses returned to him. First it was the feeling in his arms and legs, and then it was hearing and vision. He'd been knocked out on the spot.

Ranma coughed hard and set the remainder of the cupcake back in Akane's plastic container full of them. "...I'm going to be honest with you Akane. They're... not good. I'm sorry. You made some awesome stun grenades, though!"

Akane sighed in defeat and dropped her head. "I'm sorry Ranma. I just wanted to give you something nice and personal for your birthday, and I can't even do that right. I'm such a screw-up." Her voice was cracking with what Ranma could tell were tears threatening to get caught up in her throat.

"No, no, Akane, you're not a screw up! You just haven't been taught how to bake! Please don't beat yourself up. Kasumi and I would be glad to help you try agai-" Before Ranma could finish encouraging his friend, he was hit from out of nowhere by a duck-shaped training potty and knocked straight into the park's fountain.

"Ranma Saotome, the day you were born is the day you will die!" Mousse shouted, running over to the exhausted girl who was rubbing the fresh lump on her head.

"Jeez Mousse, what'd I do _this_ time?!" she frowned, dodging a few punches and stabs from random items shooting out of his sleeves.

"My dearest Shampoo left the restaurant early to give you her special birthday ramen complete with a love potion! She's never so much as wished _me_ a happy birthday, and I've known her all my life!"

Ranma swiftly dodged some darts, ducked under a bicycle pump, and then jumped over a long chain that wrapped itself around a tree behind her.

"I knew she was up to something! She doesn't care about my birthday at all! It was just a trap to get me to go out with her!"

Mousse suddenly collapsed to the ground when Shampoo's bike landed on his head. "Is one day love potion! We go on lovey-dovey date for special birthday romance, yes?" she said with a smile and holding out another bowl full of laced noodles.

"Give me a break!" Ranma nearly screamed. "Why can't you all just leave me alone?!"

"Think fast!" Ukyo shouted, running up to the group and throwing a small spatula out like a shurikan. The spatula scooped the bowl of ramen right out of Shampoo's hands and carried it two dozen feet beyond before lodging into the bark of a tree with a loud thud. The bowl balanced perfectly on the wide shovel of the spatula and not a single drop was lost.

"What's this? Ramen delivery?" Gosunkugi said in surprise at the sudden ramen that appeared right next to where he was about to nail his voodoo doll. "I didn't order any, but I could really use the meal. I'm starving!"

"No, stupid boy! Is not for you!" Shampoo shouted, running over to him, but it was too late. One good slurp of noodles and the boy's face flushed with longing and hearts appeared in his eyes.

"I don't know who you are miss, but I'm in love with you~! Please go out with me!" he said in an almost zombie-like tone that, with his unhealthily thin appearance, made him fit the part.

"Ay-yaa! Get away from me, stupid boy!" Shampoo tried hitting him a few times to keep him from coming after her, but he took each hit without so much as a flinch. The one-day love potion had turned him into a zombe full of determination strength that she just couldn't beat down. She tried to run, but he followed.

"This is a great first date~! I'm going to catch youuu~!" he laughed.

Mousse, collecting himself and getting to his feet, didn't take too kindly to the scene playing out before him. "How dare you chase after my Shampoo! I'll kill you!"

Shampoo screamed and ran as fast as she could down the street, with a laughing Gosunkugi quick on her tail thanks to the powers of the mysterious love potion. Mousse wasn't far behind, though. He was trying to trip the boy up at every chance he could get.

"Well that takes care of those morons. Good thinking, Ucchan," Ranma said to Ukyo, who joined her and Akane in their gaping expressions as they all watched the others run down the street.

"I... didn't exactly plan that, but talk about luck. Now there's no one to interfere with giving you my okonomiyaki of love! ...Unless, of course, you wanna go first, Akane."

Akane simply shook her head and gestured towards Ranma. "No, please, be my guest. She's already tried my cupcakes."

Ranma sighed. She had hoped that was the end of it, but she knew that'd be too good to be true.

"Listen, Ucchan-" she started, but she was immediately drowned out by another annoyingly loud voice rapidly approaching her.

" _MY PIGTAILED GODDESS!_ "

"Oh _no_."

Out of nowhere, the older Kuno sibling appeared and grabbed Ranma from behind in a tight embrace, holding a bouquet of red roses in one hand. "Oh, my pigtailed goddess~! Now that we share the same age, for however brief a time it might be before mine own day of birth, let us share the passion that only two-"

"Don't _TOUCH ME!_ " Ranma yelled, cutting off the babbling moron by breaking his embrace and hoping she broke his nose too with a well-placed punch to the face.

Kuno, for his part, seemed completely unphased despite the blood trickling out of his nostrils. "Please, my beautiful tree-borne kettle girl, allow me the honor of taking you on a date to celebrate your birth!"

" _NO!_ Buzz off, creep!"

"Kuno-senpai~" Akane cooed innocently, throwing both Ranma and Ukyo for a loop before they caught on to her plan. She looked up at him with the saddest puppy-dog eyes she could muster. "You want to take her on a date when I'm right here? I thought you loved me, Tatewaki~."

"Oh the fair maiden Akane Tendo, how it breaks my heart to tear it in twain to share it with both of my loves! I promise I will date with you just after my date with the pig-tailed gir-HMMFF!"

Kuno's words were stuck in his mouth along with a fresh okonomiyaki that was thrown into his gaping maw. "Two dates? In a row? You can't do that on an empty stomach, now can you?" Ukyo coaxed Kuno while giving Ranma a sly wink.

He choked down the food and thought it over for a moment before responding, "Yes, it seems I cannot. That was quite a good okonomiyaki you made. If you wish, I will allow you to date with me as well. After my date with the pig-tailed girl and Akane Tendo, of course."

"...How about you just pay me for that one instead. And this one too!" she shouted, chucking another forcefully into his mouth.

Quietly turning to Ranma, she added, "I'll distract this moron so you can get out of here. Consider this my gift to you, ok? Happy birthday, Ran-chan."

Ranma smiled warmly at the girl. Ukyo may still want to be with her, but she knew how to look out for her friends first. "Thank you Ukyo, you're a good friend. I owe you one."

"Nonsense, it's my gift to you. Go on, get out of here while you can!" She turned back towards Kuno and threw another fresh meal at his face. "Oh jeez, guess you'll have to pay for that one, too! You sure can eat a lot, mister!"

Ranma nodded. "Right!" and turning to Akane, she added, "Akane? See you at home, ok? Don't make any more cupcakes without me! We'll make them together, promise?"

Akane simply nodded with a smile and waved her friend off with a melancholic sigh. "Yeah, see ya!"

Ranma took off running across the rooftops again, making sure to go as far away as she thought she could without getting lost. Surely that'd be enough, right? ' _I think I'm in the next ward over, now. I can finally get a chance to relax! But where should I stop? Another park?_ '

She jumped down to the surface streets and tried to think of a plan of action, wondering if maybe she could ask a local or a police box where the nearest park was, when she heard a familiar voice from just around the corner.

"So if I take a left here," he mumbled to himself, rounding the right corner slowly while keeping his eyes glued to his crudely drawn map, "I should be headed straight for Kyushu, and then from there I can get to Tokyo this way..."

' _Oh no, not Ryoga too. Just turn and walk away before he notices yo-_ '

"Excuse me, miss? Can you tell me how to get to Kyushu? Is _this_ Kyushu?" he asked kindly, walking up behind her.

Ranma's shoulders sagged and she turned to face him with a sigh. "Hey, Ryoga. You're already in Tokyo. You're one ward over from Nerima." ' _I just can't catch a break today, can I?_ '

"Oh, Ranma! Good timing! I was hoping to run into you sooner or later!" His enthusiasm was not matched by the short pig-tailed girl in front of him.

"Ryoga, I've had a pretty chaotic afternoon. I'm not in the mood to prepare to die right now, ok? If you wanna go see Akane or something, Nerima's that way."

He followed the direction of her pointing with his eyes, momentarily lost in his thoughts at the idea of seeing the girl he loved again, but he quickly brought himself back to attention.

"I actually wanted to see you. Not to fight you or anything! Not today anyway. Here, hold on a sec."

Ranma watched with cautious curiousity as Ryoga slung his heavy pack down in front of him and started digging through his personal belongings. He tossed out a shirt here, a crudely drawn map there, gently set aside a care package that was meant for Akane there, and... "Ah, here it is!" he said, pulling out a little white box and handing it to the perplexed girl.

"What in the world..." Ranma said so quiet she nearly whispered the words. She took the box and eyed the fanged boy in the bandana again, unsure of what could possibly be going through his mind.

"Well go on, open it!" he said eagerly.

"Hmm..." Ranma looked down at the plain unmarked box and carefully opened its lid, bracing for a spring-loaded trap or something, but instead she found... a toy figure? She dumped it out in her hands and examined it closely. It was a little wooden figure of a person with almost no distinct features about it, other than the pose and a very simple paint job. The faceless wooden person was painted to have black hair and wearing a red top and black pants, and stood posed in a defensive martial arts stance, not unlike her default one.

"I saw this at a gift shop in Okinawa a few weeks ago and it looked just like you, so I had to grab it. It even has your pig-tail and Chinese outfit!"

"I.. don't know what to say." He was right, it did look just like her, but it seemed so... strange to receive a gift from Ryoga at all. Almost out of character for him. He only ever reserved souveniers for Akane. Ranma didn't quite know what to make of Ryoga's behavior here.

"Oh, check this out! The bottom is actually a button. Push it in and see what happens!"

She did as she was told and pressed it in to watch the wooden figure collapse. Turns out each individual wooden piece was held together with string, and when she pushed the button in, she released the tension causing the figure to fall limp. Ranma watched in mild amusement as the figure collapsed and snapped back to the fighting stance with each push of the bottom panel.

Ryoga watched as the symbolism seemed to escape his rival and sort-of friend. She just looked up at him at a complete loss for words. "...Get it? That's you when I finally kick your ass and win Akane's heart! You put up a good fight but in the end, you're collapsed on the ground, utterly defeated at my hand!"

Ryoga's cheeky smile and victorious pose infected Ranma and she slowly started laughing; a light chuckle that built into a hearty laugh that Ryoga joined in on. They laughed good for a full minute together at the silly little toy and Ryoga's unbridled confidence in his ability to beat Ranma in a fight, which neither of them can remember ever happening in recent memory. By the time they calmed down, Ranma had to wipe a tear from her eye and had the goofiest smile on her face, matching Ryoga's.

"That's an incredibly thoughtful gift, Ryoga. Thank you."

"Don't mention it. I knew your birthday was coming up soon and couldn't pass that up when I saw it. We've been getting along a lot more lately so I thought it'd be ok to give you a gift too next time I showed up with something for Akane, even if I missed your birthday. I'm just glad I ran into you in time!" He felt a little awkward admitting that he'd even thought of something like that, so he averted his gaze and rubbed the back of his head to try and hide the embarrassment. The flush of his cheeks gave him away, though.

"You really put a lot of thought into this, didn't you?" she asked more gently than she intended to. "How did you even know it was my birthday? I didn't even know until pops reminded me."

"You don't remember?" he asked with a quizzical expression. "When we were in junior high, you invited the whole class to your birthday party. My parents thought we were actually friends so they insisted I went. You even came by my house to walk me over so I wouldn't get lost. How could you forget that?"

Ranma was at a loss for words. For months now, all she wanted was to make ammends with Ryoga and be his friend, and here he was with a gift for her on her birthday. No ulterior motives, no paying off Nabiki for information... he actually remembered her birthday and bought her a thoughtful gift to surprise her. And boy, did this surprise her. It surprised her so much that her eyes were watering and before she knew what she was doing, her arms were around his neck in a warm embrace.

"Thank you for remembering my birthday, Ryoga. This actually means a lot to me. Especially after the day I've had. Thank you," she said quietly.

For his part, Ryoga was freaking out at the sudden unexpected reaction, with his cheeks flushing red and his arms flailing about, trying to break free. "R-Ranma?! What do you think you're doing? Get off of me!" He couldn't help but notice the soft lumps pressing against his chest, but tried his best to not get a nosebleed.

"It's called a hug, you moron! Maybe it's just the estrogen talkin', but bear with it, ok? I just... kinda needed this right now." A second longer of the awkward embrace and she released the dumbfounded boy, her face just as flushed with embarrassment as his. She couldn't even look him in the eye.

"Uh.. sorry about that," she said with a cough, awkwardly clearing her throat. "I don't know why I did that. It's, uh..." she started, fishing for a subject to change to to get out of the awkward situation she put them in when the bright reds and oranges in the twilight sky reminded her of the time of day. "You hungry? Let's go get something to eat. My treat."

The mention of food snapped Ryoga out of his shock-induced stupor. He hadn't eaten in at least a day, but that didn't sit too well with him. "Sure, I guess, but why are you paying? You shouldn't have to pay, it's _your_ birthday."

"It's a thank you for the gift and an apology for the hug. And to shut you up. I'll never hear the end of it if Akane or, god forbid, Nabiki finds out that I hugged you like that."

As embarrassed by Ranma's awkward outburst as he was, he wouldn't dare admit to it anyway, so he just nodded in agreement. "Fine, but at least let me chip in. I wouldn't feel right making you pay like that on your birthday."

"...Alright, but I swear, if you tell _anyone_ about this, I'm going to tell Akane about her precious little P-chan, got it?" Ryoga knew just how embarrassed she was by her own actions when she made a stipulation like that. He knew it was likely a bluff to save her the embarrassment later, but he still couldn't take the chance that it wasn't.

"Ok, ok! I promise, I won't tell a soul!" he sighed out in an exhasperated huff. "Just don't tell Akane about my curse."

"You have my word. Now lets get me some hot water before my hormones make me do something else I'll regret."

Together they walked off into the sunset while Ranma described her chaotic day to Ryoga. He thought it sounded like just another normal day in Nerima to him. After the story though, he agreed with Ranma that okonomiyaki and ramen were off the menu for a while. Sushi sounded kinda nice tonight.


End file.
